Week of May 14th

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Century-Spanning

Weaving together a variety of stories through time, directors Andy & Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer create a film mosaic in Cloud Atlas, combining the stories of a lawyer's (Jim Sturgess) ocean journey in the 1800s, a young composer (Ben Whishaw) in the 1930s working on "The Cloud Atlas Sextet," a journalist (Halle Berry) in the 1970s entangled in a nuclear conspiracy, a present-day publisher (Jim Broadbent) in trouble with the criminal underworld, a futuristic clone (Doona Bae) breaking from her pre-programmed role in Neo-Seoul, and an elder tribesman (Tom Hanks) making a forbidden journey after the apocalypse. The main cast of any one story appear in the others, changing character, age, race, and even gender as their future incarnations reflect their shared past, echoing one another as the stories mix within the movie. With Hugo Weaving. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Personal Histories

Advertised as Lindsay Lohan's comeback before becoming notorious on its own merits, Liz & Dick stars Lohan as legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor. Chronicling her famous relationship with fellow screen legend Richard Burton (Grant Bowler). From their meeting on the set of Cleopatra, to their scandalous affair, the ends of their respective marriages, they became the template for outrageous Hollywood couples, both for their extravagant romance and for their plate-hurling, name-calling spats.

Set at the turn of the 20th century, Leonie stars Emily Mortimer as Leonie Gilmour, who applied her education and love of poetry to assisting acclaimed poet Yone Noguchi (Shido Nakamura). When Yone returns to Japan, leaving Leonie pregnant and alone, she returns to her mother (Mary Kay Place) in California to raise her son... but she never gives up her struggle to reconnect her family, traveling to Japan, and becoming a prominent figure for women's rights and education. With Christina Hendricks and Mieko Harada.

Landowner Master Fan loses his property and wealth in Back to 1942, and he has to flee with his family as the Japanese army raids the Chinese countryside. With the country already in famine and the war making food even more scarce, Fan fights for the survival of his family as his story crosses with missionaries (Tim Robbins), reporters (Adrien Brody), and historic leader Chiang Kai-Shek (Chen Daoming).

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Blood Ties

Heather (Alexandra Daddario) only discovers she's adopted when a surprise inheritance shows up from a grandmother she didn't know she had. Driving out to her family estate with a group of friends (including Tania Raymonde), Heather learns that most of her family died during the events of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in Texas Chainsaw. Along with the series-mandatory hitchhiker (Shaun Sipos), they explore Heather's new home, but along with the revving of the chainsaw, they've also got the attention of the corrupt mayor (Paul Ray) that destroyed Heather's (and Leatherface's) family all those years ago. With Scott Eastwood. On DVD, Blu Ray, and 3D Blu.

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Madcap

Frankie (Charlie Hunnam) has been living in a trailer in Death Valley ever since his brother ruined his life in Frankie Go Boom. His parents bring him home when his brother Bruce (Chris O'Dowd) is released from rehab, but Bruce's new obsession is directing film... much like he "directed" Frankie's wedding video, uploaded it to YouTube, made him a laughingstock, and sent him into exile in Death Valley. Bruce's newest film features Frankie alone with a girl (Lizzy Caplan), and the brothers have to scramble between an over-the-hill TV actor (Chris Noth), a web-connected transsexual (Ron Perlman), and more, to get the new video off the internet before Frankie's life is ruined again.

Plus-sized brothers Herbert (Jerod Mixon) and Jamal (Jamal Mixon) have a chance to be stars if they can get a "golden ticket" white T-shirt in White T. Their quest to become the next incarnation of The Fat Boys is sidelined when someone else (Robbie Kaller) snags the prize-winning shirt and a shot at a star-making concert. To get the shirt back and win their fortunes, they slip from one comic scenario to the next, including a flamboyant Eric Roberts and a latino Faizon Love.

Charles Swan (Charlie Sheen) is a superstar graphic designer trying to survive the 1970's war of the sexes in A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. When his girlfriend (Katheryn Winnick) leaves him, he starts to spiral out of control, and he only has his oblivious best friend (Jason Schwartzman) and befuddled manager (Bill Murray) for support. Charles' only way to process his troubles are in his mind, fantasies that come to life in his graphic designer's imagination and present themselves on screen, but the fantasies always fade away into the reality he's made for himself.

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New this week in our TV New Releases:

Dexter Season 7

Dexter's newest victim puts him in the sights of an enforcer for a Ukrainian crime syndicate (Ray Stevenson) while he has to contend with his sister and the fallout from the events at the end of Season 6.